Hiya, Just saw you question, twiggymissretro... I tried teaching myself, but was having trouble with tension and following the book directions. I went to a SNB meeting and this woman set me straight on how to do a single crochet. It was REALLY helpful to watch someone do it. Then I met up with another woman who taught me how to use more than one strand and do double crochet. Now it's easy for me to learn the stitches, but I needed help to get started!For the hat, I asked a lot of people a lot of questions, because the hat looked so strange as I was starting. Myra helped me figure out how to rework the pattern so that it would work better. I've been crocheting since late November and have made a ton of neato projects. I'm really excited - I am finishing up my bunny slippers (my love so deep's pattern- from craftster!)